Better World Arts Aboriginal Bowl 'Possum Dreaming' 20.5x10 cm

Brand: Better World Arts
Better World Arts Aboriginal Bowl 'Possum Dreaming' 20.5x10 cm

Better World Arts Aboriginal Bowl 'Possum Dreaming' 20.5x10 cm


The Janganpa Jukurrpa (Common Brushtail Possum [Trichosurus vulpecula] Dreaming) extends across the Warlpiri lands.

Janganpa are nocturnal animals that often nest in the hollows of white gum trees (Wapunungka). This story comes from a large hill called Mawurrji, west of Yuendumu and north of Pikilyi (Vaughan Springs).

A group of Janganpa ancestors lived there. Each night they went out looking for food. Their hunting trips took them to Wirlki and Wanapirdi, where they found Pamapardu (flying ants).

They continued to Ngarlkirdipini to look for water. A Nampijinpa woman lived at Mawurrji with her two daughters. She married her daughters to a Jupurrurla Janganpa, but later decided to run away with them. The Jupurrurla furiously pursued the woman. He tracked her down at Mawurrji, where he killed her with a stone axe. Her bodies are now rocks at that site.

The Warlpiri people perform an initiation ceremony for young men that is connected to the Janganpa Jukurrpa. The Janganpa Jukurrpa belongs to Jakamarra/Jupurrurla men and Nakamarra/Napurrurla women.

In Warlpiri paintings, this Jukurrpa is depicted with traditional iconography. The tracks of the Janganpa are often shown as E-shaped figures, and concentric circles are used to represent the trees where the Janganpa live, as well as the sites at Mawurrji.

Artist: Stephen Jupurrula Nelson
Material: Powder-coated aluminium
Height: 10 cm
Diameter: 20.5 cm\